A transducer that converts information, usually recorded, into electrical signals. The term is particularly applied to the electromechanical transducers used to reproduce the signals recorded in the grooves of a gramophone record.

Ceramic pick-ups are in common use. They are constructed from a suitable ceramic material, such as barium titanate, that exhibits the piezoelectric effect. The mechanical vibrations produced by the grooves of the rotating record stress the ceramic material and result in a corresponding e.m.f. Ceramic materials are mechanically reliable and relatively stable under ambient conditions.

In a compact disc system, the pick-up is an assembly of semiconductor laser and light sensor. No mechanical vibrations are involved.